Unscathed
by Sgladiate
Summary: Felicity and Oliver embark on a road trip but things don't go as planned when her mini breaks down, forcing the pair to spend a night in what seems to be a haunted hotel. Yet, rather than ghosts, did the duo stumble upon a serial killer?


The past few weeks have been especially tough on Oliver. Thea betrayed by her brother's concealment of her paternity, made it her life's mission not to utter a word to Oliver. In fact, she wouldn't even see him if weren't for her involvement with Verdant and the need to keep up pretences for Moira's campaign.

The shift in his family dynamics left him more snappy than usual. His lack of patience with training Roy, meant that Diggle felt compelled to take over. Oliver instead retrieved to spending most of his time patrolling the streets of Starling City and chasing petty thieves.

Today, however his flawed way of achieving emotional catharsis by fighting individuals on the wrong side of law, left him with a punch too many. The idiot, stupidly went after a whole gang the police were after for weeks, all by himself. Sure, in the end he again made the city a safer place but now when he flinched every time antiseptic was applied to his broken skin, Felicity didn't try to mask her anger.

He noticed her clenched jaw.

'Felicity?'

She ignored him, and carried on with patching him up.

'Felicity! If you have something to say, say it.'

She met his eyes,

'I think you know what I'm going to say, but will you listen? No, so I'll just save myself the trouble and keep quiet.'

'Fine.'

She halted. The mere 'fine' left her irked and dissolved the invisible restrain that was keeping her overdue tirade at bay.

'_Fine_?' She took a deep breath. 'No, it's anything but _fine_. I think it's about time you realised that you're just human. We make mistakes and we deal with the consequences, I get that okay? But you can't just carry on going on _lets-see-how-many-thugs-I-can-beat-up _sprees.' she said lowering her voice on the last part.

'You purposefully endanger your own life for _no reason, Oliver_!'. She poked her finger into his naked chest. '

'Do you think I like sitting here, waiting for you to get back, not knowing how hurt you're? Because trust me, I would gladly swap that for a good catching up session with Netflix.' she said..

'_Hey_' he said his voice more gentle than before. Slowly, he placed his hands on her shoulders.

'I'm sorry for making you worry', he paused, taking a deep breath. 'It's the only way I know that makes me stop thinking of how I screwed up with Thea.'

She blinked. It only took him five weeks to open up, not bad, she thought.

'Come on, I'll make us some coffee.'

His lips twitched into a smile.

'Oh, don't get used to this.'

* * *

The clicking of her heels made him raise his head from the pile of paperwork he'd been trying to sort all morning. He didn't know when, but he learnt to recognise her walking anywhere. Her light footsteps came to a stop in front his cluttered desk, and moments later a photo fell on top of a document he was meaning to sign.

'What's this?' asked Oliver.

'I've been thinking, and figured that you need a distraction.'

His raised his brow.

'I mean, clearly chasing criminals is the kinda you prefer, but since you've been OD-ing on that, it's time you did it my way. I've been meaning to go on an overdue visit to my aunt. She's lovely and lives in the nicest house by the sea and in her garden there's this little maple tree, I mean not that little since it must have been at least a few good meters before I reached the ground and broke my arm after my cousin, Andy said that I wouldn't be able to climb to the very top, which I did, in case you're wondering. Anyway, that wasn't what I wanted to say. It's perfect for sitting under on hot afternoons, and the whole place i- ' She took a deep breath. 'You'll _love it_ so would you like to come with me?' '

Seconds passed and she began scolding herself for coming up with the idea, but before she could take her words back, he began to laugh.

'I don't how I could say no to that.'

* * *

The thick fog blanket, barely allowed the light from the headlights to pass through, making visibility of the road stretch for no more than ten meters.

'First the hail and now the hellish fog. . You'd have told me if you didn't want to come and not struck a deal with some weather god, right?.

A glare was sent her way.

'Do you want me to take over?'

'What? No, my car and my driving.'

'Well, it's _not_ like you refused to take my car.'

'There's nothing wrong with a mini.'

'Unless, if you're bigger than that 5ft5'

'Only a problem, if you're the one driving, which you're not, so stop moaning about my car. You could show it some love - after all it still holds a sizable blood stain on it's back seat. You two are connected.' she said.

A deer suddenly leapt out in front of the car.

'Watch out!' he shouted.

She swiveled and the car sped down a slope, heading straight into a mass of trees. _There is nowhere to turn,_ a voice sang in her head. Felicity slammed her foot on the brake pedal, and Oliver caught the steering wheel, fighting to manoeuvre the vehicle from what seemed like an inevitable collision with a tree. The world seemed to still to the pace of watching a film, one frame at a time. She was thrown against the airbag that deployed upon impact, seat belt crushing her chest. It took her several moments to regain her breath.

'Oliver?' she choked out.

There was no sound. Panicked, she turned her head towards him. His large body was slumped against the airbag, head leaning against the window.

'Oliver, oh my god, Oliver!' she shouted trying to get the seatbelt out of the buckle. As soon as it was out, she pushed her front doors open and scrambled outside. Ears ringing, she scurried to the passenger side.

As she shot a look at the man inside,through the side window, she realised a trail of blood decorated the skin from his forehead down to his neck. She swallowed the bile that rose in her throat, and moved to open the door.

'Come on', she whispered when they didn't budge the first time. Pushing the door handle harder, she swung it open and rushed to Oliver's unconscious side. Her shaking fingers landed on his neck, searching for a pulse. Nice and steady, she breathed a sigh of relief.

'Oliver. Can you hear me?'

Cupping his cheek to inspect the damage to his head, she saw a glass shred embedded just above his right brow. She wondered, if apart from that, if he banged his head against the window.

'Oliver?'

She leaned past him, and unbuckled his seatbelt. She was about to pull him out, but decided against it. Weren't you supposed to keep them still and immobilise their necks? She reached for her phone, ready to call for , as the menu flashed to view she realised that there were no bars present.

'Oh god, oh god, he's injured, we're in the middle of nowhere with the freaking tree still standing and with no reception. What the hell was I thinking dragging us up here?' she mumbled, moving her outstretched arm with a clenched phone, through the air.

'That you'd love to spend some time in my company.'

She jumped, her phone falling onto the grass.

'Oliver!' she was by his side within seconds. 'How are you feeling?' she questioned, her voice tight.

'Like I have a bad hangover.'

She laughed.

'Can I hug you? Stupid question, I'll do that once you get out of this car. Up you get!' She held his arm, helping him up.

'Any dizziness? Nausea? Do you want to lie down?'

'Felicity, _breathe_. I'm good.'

'May I point out you have a piece of glass the size of my pinkie sticking out of your forehead?'

'I've had worse.'

She snorted. 'Yeah and the last time you said that, you nearly passed out on me.'

Before he had time to respond, her arms were circled around him.

'You really scared me back there.' He hugged her back, his hands rubbing small circles on her back, making her breath hitch in her throat.

'What about you Felicity? Are you alright?' his voice was somewhat muffled by her hair.

She was thinking about how nice it felt to have his warmth of his hands on her, that she completely missed what he said.

'What?' she asked. Oliver repeated the question.

'Of course, I'm fine', she said smiling.

He gave her a doubtful look. After another minute, both pulled away.

'Stay here, I'm just going to check how far gone the car is.' he said. He slid into her seat, starting it up. The engine spat a growl and there was no more.

'That deer completely destroyed my mini!' Felicity cried exasperated. Oliver smirked.

Ignoring his lack of apparent lack of empathy, she asked, 'Oliver, do you have signal?'

He shook his head.

'My tablet has no connection either, figures', she sighed.

'There's was a motel about a mile back. You're up for some walking?'

'Sure, but first let me take out that glass.' she said, her tone suggesting she wasn't about to take a 'no' for an answer.

* * *

The receptionist was an older lady with brightly coloured hair, and a green scarf that completely didn't go with the purple.

'Can I help you my dears?'. Her voice was sweet and a bit too high pitched.

'A deer popped out of nowhere, causing us to crush our car. Would you mind if we used your phone to call for help?'

'Those animals get too bold when the fog comes down, think they're free to roam the roads. But yes, the phone - this way my sweets.' she gestured for them to follow her.

Oliver dialled the number for road assistance, whilst Felicity stood an arms-length away. She watched as his finger tapped on the tabletop as he waited to be directed to the right unit.

'Yes, road no.68.'

His brows furrowed. 'Tomorrow morning? Can't you send someone before then?' His tone bared a hint of annoyance. 'Fine, and yes it's Oliver Queen.'

She turned her head at the receptionist to see if the name sparked any recognition, but her face was the same still picture as before. When Oliver put down the phone, her voice broke the silence that followed.

'I understand you'll be wanting to book a room?'

'Two rooms actually,' Felicity corrected.

'Lovers quarrel?' she probed.

Blood flooded Felicity's cheeks and Olivers jaw clenched.

'We're not together.' he stated matter of factly.

'Oh, I just presumed from the way the two you of you look at each other that you were.'

Felicity's blush deepened. 'Nope, nothing like that.'

'Well, you're lucky, the past two residents just left so I have enough rooms.' her brows clenched. 'These days, they hardly stay for long. The way this is going, we'll be closing the place down soon.'

Oliver coughed. 'I'm sorry to hear that.'

'Right, there you go son. Room 31.' she handed him the key. 'And you, room 32. Have a good night.'

'G'night.' 'Night' their voices echoed as they made their way down the poorly lit corridor.

* * *

Half dreaming, she became aware that someone was in her room.

'I swear I just fell asleep', she moaned, taking a pillow and covering her head. Seconds passed and when no teasing remark fell from Oliver's mouth, she looked up. He wasn't there. And it's definitely wasn't morning, she thought taking in the black, cloudless sky outside the window. She could have sworn that someone was in her room. She looked around. Nothing. A deep sigh escaped Felicity's lips, as she thought back to grabbing a bite of Blue Stilton cheese that Oliver managed to get from the kitchens despite the late hour.. Probably the culprit; a vivid dream caused by her fondness for cheese, she pondered before attempting to re-find a comfortable spot on her double sized bed. When her eyelids finally shut, she thought back to their accident. That minute when she didn't know if he was alive, left her shaken. She looked at the ceiling. If she kept this on, she wouldn't get as much as a wink of sleep. Minutes ticked by and her mind somehow managed to wander off to images from her childhood, of the sea-house. Just as she attempted to decide whether there used to be a red shoe mat by the front door, the floor creaked. Her entire body tensed. Rigid, she pulled up the covers up to her nose. Nothing but an ancient house, with some very old flooring it seemed. Half an hour later, she was asleep.

* * *

'Mmmm' she purred.

Something warm was touching her face. 'That feels nice.' she mumbled, her voice thick with sleep. Realisation then loomed that there _shouldn't be anything_ touching her face. She bolted upright. Wildly glancing around, Felicity realised there was nothing there. Regardless, she was itching to make a run to the room adjacent to hers, but that meant sucking up her pride and admitting a weakness. She wasn't too good at that. She glanced to the bedside table. Luminous green light on the digital clock read, 3.15am. Three more hours before it would be acceptable for her to wake Oliver. She needed water. Shuffling out of her thin duvet, she slipped on her shoes. Cold air pricked her naked thighs, after all she was only wearing the t-shirt she wore earlier. She doubted anyone would be hanging out in the hallway, so she didn't bother putting on trousers. Grabbing some change, she quickly walked up to the wooden door, and pushed the handle. It didn't budge. What the hell? She pushed harder. No change. Did she lock the door before? She couldn't recall doing so. Panic rose within her chest. She tried again, and the door yanked open hitting the wall in her room with a thud.

She let out a small nervous laugh.

She ventured out onto the corridor, looking around for the vending machine she saw earlier. It must have been further than she thought. Walking around for five minutes and finding nothing, she decided it must have been on the floor below. As she began descending the stairs, the dim light flickered making her halt.

'Is somebody here?' No response reached her ears. She carefully trudged forwards, almost falling when the light went out completely.

A warm breath tickled the back of her neck. Felicity let out silent scream, blindly scurrying up the stairs. Too scared to look behind her, she rushed forward straight into Oliver's room. She loudly closed the door behind her, turning the key to lock it. Her breathing was erratic.

'Felicity?'

'Shuffle over.'

'What...doing here?' he asked incoherently. As sleep faded from his eyes, he looked at her worriedly.

'I just thought there was something in the corridor.'

'Are you sure?' he asked getting up, ready to check. She grabbed his arm. 'It's alright, stay here, _please_?'

'Who knew an MIT graduate would be scared of _ghosts_.' he said chuckling..

'Shut up' she forced a laugh that didn't quite reach her eyes, lightly punching him on the arm.

* * *

The next morning, when she entered her room, her eyes fell on her handbag's splattered contents on the floor. Looking up, the sight in front her made her recoil back to the door.

'Oliver?!'she shouted.

He was by her side within seconds. 'What's wrong?'

She pointed to the wall in front of her. Words in pink menacingly stared back at them, written in her favourite lipstick.

_'I'm watching you',_

**A/N: Halfway through writing the car scene, I realised that I was imagining it all wrong. It dawned on me that unlike in UK, the rest of the world favours the left side to have the steering wheel on. Anyway, thanks for reading.**


End file.
